Women's Basketball

Rams Fall in First Round of NCAA's to Gettysburg

Mar 05, 2010

Rams Fall in First Round of NCAA's to
Gettysburg

Gettsburg College- 68, Farmingdale State - 57

Bethlehem, Pa. - The Farmingdale State women's
basketball team saw the best season in program history fall short
in the first round of the Division III NCAA Tournament, as
Gettysburg College took the 68-57 victory from the Rams on Friday
night at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa. Senior guard Kim
Blakney (Brooklyn, N.Y./Benjamin Banneker) scored a team-high 29
points, 10 rebounds, and six steals as Farmingdale ends the season
with a 25-2 overall record.

The lead never changed hands in the game as Gettysburg’s
Lauren Dadigan put in the opening bucket 43 seconds in. The Rams
posted the only tie on the ensuing possession before the Bullets
rattled off the next four points to take the lead for good.

Farmingdale State, which came into the game leading the nation in
steals and scoring margin, never let up the defensive pressure and
pulled to a single point twice in the opening period, the last on a
three-pointer by junior guard Janel Monah (Westbury, N.Y./Westbury)
which made it 18-17 with 7:17.

The Rams made only one field goal for the remainder of the half, a
three-pointer by national scoring leader Kimberly Blakney, and the
team only made 6-of-37 shot attempts (16.2 percent) in the opening
half. A 7-0 run gave the Bullets an 11-point lead (31-20) at the
break.

Gettysburg put up the first six points of the final stanza and
opened up a 20-point advantage (47-27) on a three-pointer by
Courtney Fields at 12:54. The lead dipped to 13 (50-37) at 10:16,
until another 7-0 run capped by a pair of Allie Drechsler free
throws regained the 20-point margin (57-37) with 8:35 on the
clock.

Minutes later, Blakney almost brought Farmingdale State back from
the brink with eight-straight points to slice the margin to nine
(61-52) with 3:22 left. Junior Caitlin Moser provided the counter,
posting six points in the final three minutes to help stave off the
comeback.

The teams combined for 97 rebounds in the contest with Gettysburg
holding a 54-43 edge. Farmingdale’s pressure resulted in 18
Bullet turnovers, but the Orange and Blue’s zone defense
resulted in a 19-for-71 effort from the field (26.8 percent) by the
Rams. Gettysburg dominated inside action, out-scoring Farmingdale
State 34-18 in the paint.

For the Rams, Blakney led the stat sheet, while senior guard
Juanita Chappel (Brooklyn, N.Y./Grand Street Campus) was the only
other with more than five points, putting up 13 and handing out a
team-best four assists.

Moser turned in the greatest single-game in Gettysburg postseason
history, posting a career-high 34 points and grabbing 14 boards.
Sophomore Julie McGrory posted seven points and five rebounds,
while Dadigan finished with six points and six caroms. Fields also
posted a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Drechsler
grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds, scored seven points, dished out
five assists, and was Gettysburg’s primary ball handler
against the Rams’ full-court press.

With the victory, Gettysburg (23-4) breaks the school record for
wins and advances to the second round where it will meet either
Utica College or host Moravian Saturday night at 7 p.m.